Tang Yuanyuan turned toward Yuchi Yishu and took his arm, saying, “Let’s go, Yishu.”
Yuchi Yishu glanced at An Qian, and he sensed an emanating reluctance from Tang Yuanyuan, so he obliged. “Alright, let’s head downstairs .”
After the two left, An Qian lashed out at Zhong Chufeng, “You asked me to apologize to her, and I did. Did you see her attitude?”
“What attitude?” Zhong Chufeng glanced at her coldly. “If you said those things to me, believe me when I say that I will slap you.”
“What?!” An Qian called out in disbelief.
Zhong Chufeng ignored her and walked downstairs. An Qian gritted her teeth for a moment before following suit.
The landlord had already prepared a hearty spread for breakfast. She waved at Tang Yuanyuan the second she spotted her.
Being the polite person she was, Tang Yuanyuan smiled back and greeted her, “Good morning, Madam.”
“Good morning, did you sleep well last night?”
The landlord couldn’t help but notice that Tang Yuanyuan’s eyes were a little swollen. But since she did not seem down, the landlord didn’t ask further.
“A nice cozy sleep calls for a mouth-watering spread. Come along now, let’s have breakfast.” The landlord whispered something into Tang Yuanyuan’s ears as she served her some porridge.
“This here was from a recipe your brother had specifically given to me.”
“Really?” Tang Yuanyuan asked as she raised her head in surprise.
She turned to look at Yuchi Yishu, just as he took a sip of his porridge and set the bowl down. “What are you looking at? Go ahead and dig in.” said Yuchi Yishu.
Not long after, Zhong Chufeng and An Qian came down for breakfast as well. Initially, An Qian intended to sit close to Yuchi Yishu, however, her plan was intervened by Zhong Chufeng who quickly instructed her, “Come and sit over here.”
An Qian fumed, feeling a murderous rage toward Zhong Chufeng.
Tang Yuanyuan didn’t want to sit with An Qian for breakfast. Although she had forgiven her out of respect for Zhong Chufeng, she was still very much angry with the way An Qian had spoken to her the night before.
As Tang Yuanyuan looked up, she couldn’t help but feel irritated at the sight of An Qian. She didn’t reveal what she was feeling, and instead shifted her focus onto nibbling on a pastry.
The pastry was packed with a generous amount of filling, making each bite flavorful. Tang Yuanyuan felt her taste buds awaken, and she even felt the urge to cry in contentment.
It was clear that the landlord had a knack for cooking. Tang Yuanyuan told herself that she would eat to her heart’s content. “Eat slowly. Don’t choke on your food.”
“It goes well with porridge,” said Yuchi Yishu as he dished out a bowl of porridge and set it beside Tang Yuanyuan. “Thank you, Yishu.”
Zhong Chufeng looked at her and couldn’t help but laugh. “Yuanyuan, you really are not one to eat slowly. No one’s going to take it away from you. If you like the pastry so much, you can have mine.”
Hearing his words, An Qian wanted to add her two cents too. And so, she pushed the pastry in front of her to Yuanyuan. “You can have mine too.”
There were now two more pieces of pastry in front of Tang Yuanyuan. She glanced over at the slender An Qian, and thought about what she said last night. Just like that, Tang Yuanyuan lost her appetite.
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head, saying, “It’s alright, you two can have it.” Had this taken place just a day ago, Tang Yuanyuan would have been very happy with the kind gesture. However, now that she has come to learn An Qian’s true colors, it felt rather hypocritical.
Fortunately, this time round, Yuchi Yishu was there to help her out.
“It’s best that you both eat your own food. It’s not like there isn’t any food on this table.”
Zhong Chufeng curled his lips and said, “ I offered it to her because she likes the pastry. Are you not happy that I treat your sister well?”
“Just continue eating your food.”
Tang Yuanyuan finished her pastry gloomily, then had the small bowl of porridge. Shortly after that, she wiped her hands and said, “I’m full.”
As soon as she said that, all three heads swiveled in her direction. Their sudden attention made Tang Yuanyuan blush bright red in embarrassment.
“W-What’s wrong?”
Zhong Chufeng held his tongue for what felt like forever, his expression uncomfortable.
After all, Tang Yuanyuan was not one to have a small appetite. One could give her a few more pastries and she could eat them up effortlessly and still have other dishes afterward. Much like a pig really, but a cute one nonetheless.
However, she had only a single pastry and said that she was full.
Could it be because of what An Qian had said to her last night? Even though he had comforted her, what he said was surely the equivalent to putting a band-aid on an open wound. Although the wound was out of sight, the pain would still be there.
Zhong Chufeng suddenly regretted that he allowed An Qian to tag along on this trip.
Had she not been here, none of this would have happened.
Yuchi Yishu, on the other hand, was indifferent. He seemed to know something was up but did not make it obvious. He merely picked up a few dishes and put them in Tang Yuanyuan’s bowl, saying to her in a low voice, “Then sit and accompany me, will you? You’re still growing; you cannot have so little food.”
“But…” Tang Yuanyuan almost blurted out that she was too fat, but managed to hold her tongue just in time.
“Well, then I will eat a little bit more to keep you company, Yishu.”
As Tang Yuanyuan finished up, Yuchi Yishu refilled her bowl with food, until she finally felt full. She realized that she could not eat anymore, so she discreetly pulled on Yuchi Yishu’s sleeve under the table and whispered, “Yishu, I really can’t eat anymore.”
Only then did Yuchi Yishu stop. “If you are full, let’s go take a walk around the cabin.”
Then, he got up and said to Zhong Chufeng, “I’ll take her out for a walk.”
Zhong Chufeng was stunned for a few seconds before acknowledging the guy. “Okay.”
This meant that Yuchi Yishu did not want him to follow. He and Yuchi Yishu had been friends for so many years, hence he could read his gestures like a book.
An Qian, however, put down the spoon in her hand and said, “I’m full! I’d like to go for a walk too.”
As soon as she got up, Zhong Chufeng yanked her back into the chair as he snarled, “Where are you going? You barely ate anything! Sit down and eat a little more.”
“But I’m stuffed!”
“Just stay put even if you’re full!” Zhong Chufeng’s tone was harsh. He made sure that Yuchi Yishu and Tang Yuanyuan were out of sight before he continued saying, “Can’t you see that they do not want company? Are you that oblivious?”
“Zhong Chufeng, why are you speaking to me like that?”
“Well then, why did you follow me on this trip? It’s not like I invited you along. Do you know what I had to do to save your face? No one invited you either. In fact, they made it clear that they didn’t want you to follow. Yet, you are so thick-faced that you tagged along regardless.”
Hearing this, An Qian stood up, feeling offended.
“I’m thick-faced? You do realize that it is you who is thick faced right? Didn’t you see that Tang Yuanyuan only has eyes for her brother? Yet, here you are putting yourself in this position. Go on, tell me that I am wrong!”
“Why you…!” Zhong Chufeng exclaimed in anger, his expression turning thunderous.
“And to think you have the audacity to call me out.” An Qian sneered as she folded her arms. “Did you forget to take your own actions into account?”
